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The NRL superstar was found guilty on Monday of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent after three days of jury deliberation.
The 33-year-old has been supported by wife Amellia Bonnici throughout his seven-day retrial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court after his first trial in Newcastle last year ended in a hung jury.
Bonnici has made a concerted effort to show public support for her husband, repeatedly attending court and regularly holding hands with her partner in front of photographers as they exited.
The couple have been through enough to push any marriage to breaking point after a turbulent start to their relationship and a period of living apart.
The relationship will face its greatest test on May 6 in Newcastle District Court when Hayne faces sentencing.
Hayne and Bonnici met in 2016 after he returned from a stint in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers to join the NRL again with the Titans.
Bonnici quickly fell pregnant, and Hayne immediately moved her to his Gold Coast residence, but the couple ultimately ended up living apart when she returned to Sydney before Hayne returned to the Parramatta Eels for the 2018 NRL season, motivated by his desire to be near Bonnici and their first child, daughter Beliviah Ivy, who was born in 2017.
Their relationship earlier survived Hayne’s civil rape lawsuit, settled in 2019.
Hayne was accused of sexually assaulting the woman at his apartment in California in 2015 after meeting her at a bar while he was playing for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers.
The US District Court announced that the lawsuit had been “voluntarily dismissed” following a private settlement.
Hayne was charged with fresh offences in 2020, and Hayne and Bonnici have remained together since, and celebrated their engagement on Boxing Day.
Their whirlwind engagement lasted just four weeks before the couple announced their marriage during a glamorous ceremony on January 26, just 55 days ago.
Hayne announced their happy news in an Instagram post with a bible verse in the caption.
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favour from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22 NKJV,” Hayne wrote with the picture of Bonnici showing off her engagement ring.
“It’s been a rollercoaster. But I’m thankful for God and what the Holy Spirit has done through us. It’s only by the grace of God we are here and were excited moving forward as Husband n Wife (sic),” he added with a love heart emoji.
The pair were married in secret, but the news of their nuptials leaked soon after the couple’s first kiss as a married couple during their January wedding at the Pullman Magenta Shores resort on the Central Coast of NSW, in front of just 50 guests.
The location was kept a secret until the last minute.
Hayne wore a cream suit and white shirt while Bonnici, 29, wore a classical white dress.
“We met on 26th of Jan five years ago. Thank God for sorting us out and realising we meant to be,” Hayne posted.
“Thank you to our Families & Friends who attended yesterday. We had an unbelievable day with you all.
“It was unfortunate to not have the honour to announce this ourselves.”
Less than nine weeks later, Hayne faces the possibility of a prison sentence.
He pleaded not guilty and denied sexually assaulting the then 26-year-old woman at her home at Fletcher, on Newcastle’s outskirts, in September 2018.
His first trial in Newcastle last year ended in a hung jury, however the jury of seven men and five women found him guilty of performing oral and digital sex on the woman without her consent.
During her evidence, which was replayed from Hayne’s first trial, the woman said she refused to consent to sex because the ex-Parramatta fullback had a taxi waiting outside.
He had been in Newcastle for a two-day buck’s party and had organised to pay a cab driver $550 to take him back to Sydney, where he was required to attend an event at Alexandria at midnight.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said when she heard the taxi beeping outside her bedroom window she resolved there was “no way” she was going to consent to sex.
WHAT HAS JARRYD HAYNE BEEN DOING THE LAST TWO YEARS?
Hayne hasn’t played in the NRL since 2018.
After the NSW Sex Crimes Squad’s investigation into the incident first became public, Hayne took a holiday to the Middle East with Parramatta teammates Tim Mannah and Michael Jennings.
He handed himself in at Ryde Police Station in Sydney after returning to Australia and was charged by police before being released on strict bail conditions.
He was allowed to travel to Western Australia in mid-2019, to attend a six-month missionary course at the Youth With A Mission centre.
Hayne stayed in a dormitory-style accommodation near the evangelical Christian centre’s training campus with other men and was required to attend lectures and not drink alcohol.
He returned briefly to Newcastle in July that year to formally enter a plea of not guilty and spoke to media for the first time as he exited court.
“I want to make it very clear, I’m innocent of these charges,” Hayne said. “It’s been a very hard time for my family … but justice will be served.”
After moving back to NSW from Perth late last year Hayne has been spotted occasionally playing basketball in Marrickville in Sydney’s inner-west and working out with former Eels teammates in Merrylands.
He’s also provided sporadic commentary on sports via his Twitter page, including The Last Dance documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the NFL and his beloved Eels.
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